Fallen Foreclosure King David J. Stern Disbarred

The long, legal saga of David J. Stern, the south Florida attorney who made a fortune off the wave of home foreclosures stemming from the housing crisis, has reached its end.

After years of court battles over the practices of Stern's once-mighty, multimillion-dollar law firm, the Florida Supreme Court last week disbarred Stern. As the Palm Beach Post reports, a Palm Beach County judge who refereed Stern's case and who recommended disbarment criticized the 53-year-old lawyer for failing to take responsibility or show "any remorse" for his firm's actions. Mother Jones was one of the first news outlets to expose the shoddy and legally questionable work done by Stern's army of lawyers and paralegals as it foreclosed on hundreds of thousands of Floridians, including backdating crucial documents used to foreclose on homeowners. Nancy Perez, the Palm Beach County judge, said the blame fell on Stern for that shoddy work. "The incidents were not isolated, but rather a representation of the culture of the firm, as to the low level of competence and ethics," Perez wrote. "(Stern) is the lawyer. It was his firm. Mr. Stern is responsible."